Stockman wins District 36 nod for GOP

Published 8:03 am, Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Steve Stockman wrapped up the last couple of counties late Tuesday or early today to nab the nomination to run as the Republican candidate for the U.S. House District 36, which spreads across nine counties of East Texas and the eastern Houston area.

If Stockman succeeds, he will return to Congress where he served one term from 1995 to 1997, winning an election in the unusual year that saw Democrats lose their 40-year grip on the majority.

However, Stockman experienced rookie mistakes and found himself out of a job after that one term.

Stockman defeated Stephen Takach of Baytown in the runoff election, which had a field of 11 in the May 29 primary. Takach actually had outpolled Stockman, who ran what he termed a "guerilla campaign" on a low budget.

Takach won just one county - Liberty County - and the margin between the two candidates also was telling.

Stockman drew 21,427 votes in the 228 voting precincts on runoff election day and pulled in 10, 235 early votes.

Takach drew 17,348 votes on runoff election day and had just 9,687 in early votes.

Stockman, of Friensdwood, in Harris County, did not represent the newly redrawn district that he won on Tuesday in the 1990s. In that term, the district he represented included Jefferson County. This one does not. It includes Hardin and Orange counties.